Turnpike travelers face wintry mix and variable conditions during holiday stretch
POSSIBLE RECORD BREAKING HOLIDAY TRAVEL RUSH IS NOW UNDERWAY. THE TURNPIKE, PREDICTING TODAY TO BE THE BUSIEST DAY OF THE ROAD ON THE ROAD, RATHER, DESPITE THE WEATHER, PITTSBURGH’S ACTION NEWS 4 REPORTER SHELDON INGRAM SPOKE WITH DRIVERS TODAY ABOUT THEIR EXPERIENCE AND SAFETY TIPS FROM THE TURNPIKE. WITH LESS THAN A WEEK TO GO UNTIL CHRISTMAS, WHAT IS CALLED THE BUSIEST TRAVEL DAY ON THE PENNSYLVANIA TURNPIKE FOR THE CHRISTMAS HOLIDAY SEASON, DRIVERS SHARE THEIR EXPERIENCE BEHIND THE WHEEL IN THIS WINTRY WEATHER. PITTSBURGH’S ACTION NEWS FOUR ON THE TURNPIKE EASTBOUND AND WESTBOUND. THESE ARE SOME OF THE 7.4 MILLION PEOPLE TRAVELING THE TURNPIKE FOR THE CHRISTMAS HOLIDAY. WERE YOU GUYS TRAVELING FROM AND WHERE YOU’RE TRAVELING TO? WE’RE TRAVELING FROM ANNAPOLIS, MARYLAND, AND WE’RE TRAVELING TO MADISON, WISCONSIN. I’M TRAVELING FROM MICHIGAN, WHERE IT IS VERY, VERY COLD, AND I’M TRAVELING TO MARYLAND. I’M FROM RICHMOND, VIRGINIA, AND IT STARTED OUT 60 DEGREES THIS MORNING, AND I’M HEADED TO PITTSBURGH. TRAVEL ON THE TURNPIKE TURNED TRICKY DURING DIFFERENT TIMES OF THE DAY, AS THE WINTRY MIX CHALLENGED VISIBILITY. THAT’S WHY DRIVERS ARE CONSTANTLY REMINDED ABOUT THE WINTRY CONDITIONS. SOME DESCRIBE THE DRIVING EXPERIENCE AS AN UNNERVING ORDEAL. RAINY AND A LITTLE BLIZZARDY IN PENNSYLVANIA. YES. ARE ROADS DECENT? THE ROADS ARE OKAY. IT’S JUST, YOU KNOW, YOU’RE KIND OF DRIVING WHITE KNUCKLED AND YOU DON’T WANT IT. THE STRESS OF IT, BUT YOU DO THE BEST YOU CAN. IT’S BEEN COLD AND WINDY AND BIT SNOWY, AFFECTING YOUR DRIVING AT ALL A LITTLE BIT. YEAH, I’VE SEEN THE TRUCKS DO THIS IN THE WIND. THE ROADS ARE GREAT, THE SEMI TRUCK DRIVERS NOT SO GREAT. IT’S A LITTLE BIT OF A SHOCK, BUT I’M USED TO IT. MY MY CAR IS FULL OF BOOTS, HATS, GLOVES, COATS, NO DRIVING RESTRICTIONS ARE POSTED BY THE TURNPIKE COMMISSION, BUT DRIVERS ARE ADVISED TO TRAVEL SAFELY. OBVIOUSLY, CONDITIONS CHANGE IN DIFFERENT PARTS OF THE TURNPIKE HEADING UP THE MOUNTAIN. IT MIGHT BE SNOWING COMPARED TO, YOU KNOW, WE’RE SEEING A LITTLE BIT MORE RAIN AND SLEET RIGHT NOW. SO, YOU KNOW, OBVIOUSLY, YOU KNOW, LIKE I SAID, IT’S TOUGH. IT’S TOUGH EVEN STANDING HERE TALKING TO YOU. SO OBVIOUSLY PAYING ATTENTION TO CONDITIONS, KEEPING BOTH HANDS ON THE WHEEL AND THESE WINDIER CONDITIONS AS THE GUSTS PICK UP. TRAFFIC ON THE TURNPIKE IS EXPECTED TO SLOW DOWN DURING THE WEEKEND AND THEN PICK UP AGAIN ON MONDAY, COVERING ALLEGHENY COUNTY AT THE OAKMO
Turnpike travelers face wintry mix and variable conditions during holiday stretch
Updated: 6:29 PM EST Dec 19, 2025
Drivers catching breaks at the New Stanton and Oakmont Travel plazas are headed east and west for Christmas.They are using the Pennsylvania Turnpike for a good chunk of their travel, and while roads have remained clear, a heavy wintry mix created some nervousness behind the wheel at times.Jeff and Beth Brigham are traveling from Annapolis, Maryland, to Madison, Wisconsin. “Rainy and a little blizzardy,” says Beth Brigham. “The roads are OK, you’re just driving white knuckles. You don’t want the stress of it, but you do the best you can.”Jenny Olsen says she encountered heavy wind gusts while traveling from Michigan to Maryland: “It’s been cold, windy and a bit snowy. I saw trucks (swerving) in the wind.”During the Christmas holiday stretch, the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission says 7.4 million vehicles will travel on the turnpike.While no road restrictions are posted, drivers are advised to use caution when traveling, as weather conditions can change. “Obviously, conditions change as you go through different parts of the turnpike,” says turnpike spokesperson Crispin Havener. “In the mountains, it might be snowy compared to the rain and sleet we’re seeing right now.”
HUNKER, Pa. —
Drivers catching breaks at the New Stanton and Oakmont Travel plazas are headed east and west for Christmas.
They are using the Pennsylvania Turnpike for a good chunk of their travel, and while roads have remained clear, a heavy wintry mix created some nervousness behind the wheel at times.
Jeff and Beth Brigham are traveling from Annapolis, Maryland, to Madison, Wisconsin. “Rainy and a little blizzardy,” says Beth Brigham. “The roads are OK, you’re just driving white knuckles. You don’t want the stress of it, but you do the best you can.”
Jenny Olsen says she encountered heavy wind gusts while traveling from Michigan to Maryland: “It’s been cold, windy and a bit snowy. I saw trucks (swerving) in the wind.”
During the Christmas holiday stretch, the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission says 7.4 million vehicles will travel on the turnpike.
While no road restrictions are posted, drivers are advised to use caution when traveling, as weather conditions can change. “Obviously, conditions change as you go through different parts of the turnpike,” says turnpike spokesperson Crispin Havener. “In the mountains, it might be snowy compared to the rain and sleet we’re seeing right now.”